What fresh hell is this? - Democratic Underground

ben_meyers

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Mon Aug-18-08 01:39 AM
Original message

What fresh hell is this?

Soros hedge fund bought Petrobras stake worth $811 million?

RIO DE JANEIRO/WASHINGTON
Petroleumworld.com, Aug 18, 2008

Billionaire investor George Soros bought an $811 million stake in Petroleo Brasileiro SA in the second quarter, making the Brazilian state-controlled oil company his investment fund's largest holding.

As of June 30, the stake in Petrobras, as the Rio de Janeiro-based oil producer is known, made up 22 percent of the $3.68 billion of stocks and American depositary receipts held by Soros Fund Management LLC, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Petrobras has since slumped 28 percent.

Soros has increased his mining and commodities holdings, a move that accelerated in the first quarter with purchases of such companies as Cia. Vale do Rio Doce , the world's largest iron-ore producer, and Talisman Energy Inc. , a Canadian oil and gas company. In November, Petrobras announced the discovery of Tupi, a field with as much as 8 billion barrels of reserves, making it the largest find in the Americas since 1976.

http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Oil_and_Gas/10237597.html

How the hell does a state owned petroleum company sell itself off to a private investor? I thought that was the reason to be state owned, to keep the evil speculators out.

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SoCalDem

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Mon Aug-18-08 01:47 AM
Response to Original message

1. They call it an "investment"..not a "sale"

and guess who get nothing of the money?? the people..

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Sanctified

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Mon Aug-18-08 02:02 AM
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2. If I had $811 million in my mattress I would invest it in State owned Oil also.

I mean what other commodity is going to increase in value like oil, that stuff is going to shoot through the roof in value and you really don't have to worry about the country of Brazil going out of business any time soon.

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ColbertWatcher

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Mon Aug-18-08 02:09 AM
Response to Reply #2

3. Great investment.

So good, Business week calls them "the New Oil Superpower"

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ben_meyers

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Mon Aug-18-08 02:11 AM
Response to Reply #2

4. I agree, but I thought that state owned was to keep

the greedy capitalists, especially the foreign ones, from screwing the little guy. Maybe Soros doesn't count as a greedy capitalist pig.

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geckosfeet

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Mon Aug-18-08 03:19 AM
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5. It takes two to tango, and the fact that they sold the stake to Soros vs

ExxOn or mObil or BP tells me that there was a political as well as a business calculation. Personally, I would much rather see Soros fronting them than BP.

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TreasonousBastard

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Mon Aug-18-08 05:10 AM
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6. Short answer-- the same way Thatcher sold off...

British Rail. There's no law saying a state enterprise has to stay owned by the state.

Slightly longer answer-- everyone, even Communist countries, have to get working capital from somewhere, and state-owned socialist enterprises are no exception. It could come from the taxpayers, from debt, or from private capital. Selling shares in a state enterprise to raise capital is nothing new, or inately evil.

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Ghost Dog

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Mon Aug-18-08 08:03 AM
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7. Latest info I can find, Petrobras is 55.7% state-owned

(ref.), the remaining shares being traded on stock exchanges in Brazil and around the world, mainly on the New York Stock Exchange (see Reuters here).

This is quite common. Norway's Statoil is a good example of same.

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DFW

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Mon Aug-18-08 08:10 AM
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8. State-owned enterprises often sell portions to private capital

It raises cash, and as long as the State retains 51% ownership, what they
say, goes. This is hardly precedent-setting.

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